Three cheers for Roald Dahl! I'm always reading something aloud to my kids, and it's been that way all their lives. They are 8 and 11 years old now, and their favorite author who has stood the test of time is Roald Dahl. They loved him as wee little kids; they love him now. I just finished reading The Witches to them, and there was much laughter and cheering. As many read-alouds as we've done over the years, I've learned (the hard way) that some books just lend themselves better to reading aloud than others do. Take The Secret Garden for example. I absolutely adore the book, but with the Yorkshire dialect, it made for a tedious read-aloud. Roald Dahl books have always been my very favorite to read to my kids. His humor, all the fun characters I get to voice, his bizarreness and charm, the way he creates wonderful stories without trying to simplify language or talk down to kids....I could go on and on. The Witches was one of our very favorites.